Customer Reviews

Scarlett O'Hara's Younger Sister

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I never had any desire to read this book until I found out that Evelyn Keyes had been married to Artie Shaw and wrote about their marriage in her book. Artie Shaw was the handsome big band leader during the 1940s, and early 1950s, who played a mean clarinet. His band leader days were over by the time they married though. It should have made Ava Gardner feel better to know that Artie Shaw was a jerk to every woman he was married to, not just her.

The rest of the book is interesting also. Her first husband committed suicide when she left him, and she said she never left another man again. She made them leave her. And the marriage to John Huston - they got married on a whim, but it was more her whim than his. I'm surprised it lasted as long as it did. Through Huston, she knew and liked Bogie and Bacall, she adored Paulette Goddard, resented Vivien Leigh in later years when she felt Leigh still treated her like a "bit player." Good dish.

Being a "guy" and not into reading books authored by women {I'm a throw back, what can I say} usually, I was interested in Ms. Keyes' book for three reasons; one, she was married to my favorite director John Houston. Two, she was in the Jolson story. And three, she was "there" in the Hollywood heydays, all of which I wanted to read more about.

I was surprised that she actually sounded and acted like the women I have known the otherside of the 1970's. Many of whom have these "pistol", one of the guys, take as good as you get qualities that makes their men loved them all the more because of their accessibility. And she was definitely all that and still is because as of this writing she is still with us!
She walks the walk and talks the talk, and holds back nothing in the bedroom stories. Or anywhere else for that matter.

But one comes away feeling that she never really found herself.
This was an interesting read and enlightening too, from the point of view that perhaps none of us really find out who or what we are as human beings ulitmately, and that central to our "dis-ease" in this world is that haunting feeling that we don't know actually where we stand in the scheme of things.
An inner dissatisfaction and insecurity that after some psyhco therapy the psychologist points out that the goal of therapy is to find out that everybody else is just as unhappy as we are.

If anything the reader will walk away knowing that "whatever glitters is not gold", and that is especially true of Tinsel Town, and the ones that come looking for gold that isn't there!

Ms. Keyes is a surprisingly good writer, and her autobiography is honest and interesting. You get a real sense of her as a person, and you also get to know her husbands (especially John Huston and Artie Shaw). The only disappointment is that she says so little about what it was like to be an actress on the set of great movies like Gone With the Wind -- instead the book focuses on her many romances. Still, it's one of the best Hollywood biographies I've read. And it made me want to see more of her as an actress. Well, done, Ms. Keyes.

I ABSOLUTELY LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS BOOK. I CONSIDER MYSELF TO BE A HOLLYWOOD HISTORY BUFF BUT AFTER READING THIS BOOK I REALIZED HOW LITTLE I ACTUALLY KNOW ABOUT THAT FABLED TOWN. I THOUGHT THE BOOK MIGHT BE INTERESTING BUT I REALLY ONLY PICKED IT UP TO HELP KILL TIME. WELL LET ME TELL YOU, I WAS MORE THAN ALITTLE BIT SURPRISED AT HOW JUICY AND STEAMY A LIFE MS. KEYES HAD LEAD. TO ME SHE WAS A LITTLE KNOWN ACTRESS BUT BOY DID SHE LEAD AN EXCITING LIFE. I WOULD HAVE GIVEN IT FIVE STARS BUT HEY ANYTHING CAN BE IMPROVED UPON. THIS IS A MUST READ.

Evelyn Keyes, recently deceased, was never a major player in Hollywood. She is best known for her role in Gone With the Wind as Scarlett O'Hara's sister Suellen, yet she was a beautiful and competant actress. Why did she never make a bigger name for herself? She explains the details here, her refusal of Harry Cohn's advances and her own destructive behavior led to a second rate career among many A-list names. Her friendship with Paulette Goddard, her marriages to John Huston, Mike Todd, and Artie Shaw, and her adventures on the set of her films adorn this entertaining and well written biography.

It gets a little dry in places, especially toward the middle where life just becomes a succession of men and parties. However, it picks up again when she relives the details of her failed marriages. Unfortunately, many hard times befell her and her luck with men was not so good, but it makes for interesting reading. Her first husband, Barton Bainbridge, was a volatile man who killed himself. The event scared Miss Keyes and led her to stay in relationships well past their expiration dates. Her marriage to director Charles Vidor was mainly about sex, although one might not consider the older man to be attractive. Next came another director, John Huston, who she married on a lark one night and truly admired. When his flame faded, Keyes moved onto empressario Mike Todd, although she initially spurned him. He left her for Elizabeth Taylor and finally Keyes found the demanding Artie Shaw who donned her Kesi. They're all here in a succession of conversationally written memoirs, and just in case you can't get enough, Keyes wrote a follow-up book.

I liked this book which capably describes a bygone era in Hollywood (Evelyn recently passed away at the age of 91 and was one of the last surviving actors of "Gone With The Wind.") Her fame my not have been equal to other leading actresses of her time, but she met and travled in the company of world famous people and relates her encounters here. If you are interested in the older era of Hollywood, then this book will give some understanding and insight to the time, the place and the personalities. There is no doubt she lived a full and exciting life.

I hardly knew who Evelyn Keyes was when I picked this up, and I was surprised to find that this was one of the most absorbing entertaining autobiographies I have ever read from the Hollywood scene. If movie star autobiographies and old Hollywood dish are your bag, then this is one of the best. Leaves you feeling like you have just had a long dishing session with a girlfriend. She is quite frank about everything and tells it ALL. The men in her life (John Houston, Mike Todd, Kirk Douglas, Artie Shaw) all make for fascinating passages. Highly recommend.

I read this book back in the 70's when it was first published and couldn't put it down. While Evelyn Keyes was not always likeable, she is very honest and her life was absolutely fascinating. Her writing style is very lively and you feel that you are right there with her, and get a real sense of the people she writes about. This is a very entertaining read that will provide you with a piece of old Hollywood and give you some tidbits you would never read anywhere else. A must for fans of old 40's movies, and for anyone who is curious about the private lives of stars during that time period.

evelyn keyes's autobiography about her life is great reading. i couldnt put it down. she told everything about her life with her husbands and lovers. people that havn;t read it should read it.

I have ordered several books from Amazon.com and have been very happy with each order. The books are exactly how they are described and delivered in a timely manner. I am very happy with this service.